Artemis Fowl: After the Final Breath
by RitzCutie
Summary: A year after the destruction that Opal Koboi created, the world below and above slowly return to its usual pace. Artemis has return to his old self with the help of Holly. All seemed to be fine until trouble starts to occur once again. The crew returns once more nd must form an alliance with an unusual friend to fight an unformidable foe. Will this truly be the end of the world?
1. Prologue

**Prologue:**  
In someone's conciousness

It is assumed that life after death is non-existance, that we enter an eternal oblivion, where one's conscienceness is permanently lost. Other's believe that in a tragic death the soul lingers until vengeance is achieve. Some believe in an after life, either in a place of greatness or a place of eternal despair. Or for many it doesn't matter what you believe, but what you do in your life before you get to that point. Even then, life takes on a whole new meaning. Our family. Our friends. Our goals. Our purpose. All different.

I once wished I was normal, doing what everyone does, being like everyone else. But what is normal? Being normal was impossible. For no one knows what it is. Where I was born. Where I was created. It was all planned. What I did. How I live. I thought my life was stone, but I was wrong. Here I am lying on the cold, hard ground, wondering if normal was really all I want. I surely wouldn't be here right now, but in retrospect I woudn't change a thing. My body is numb with pain. My eyes shut as tight as steel doors. My ears picking the sounds of muffled destruction. My mind aches to wake, but my body doesn't respond. I may not be able to control my body, but I can control my destiny. The one who made me lie in ache won't tear that away.

You don't own me.


	2. Chapter 1

"That's it?"  
"Yes. That is it," replied Holly to Artemis.  
"What about-"  
"Everything is fine."  
"And…"  
"That, too."  
"So it's over?"  
"Completely over. Unless you want to do it all over again."  
"I think a break would suffice."  
"How long do you think this break would be?"  
Artemis grins, "why ask if you you know the answer?"  
"Artemis," says Holly annoyingly.  
"Guess."  
Artemis was not the playing type, but he knew that doing so would annoy Holly and why not do so anyway. "Mmm... Knowing you, you are probably devising some ingenious plan behind your computer. You're breaks aren't breaks, Artemis," replies Holly. "You should have a different name for that."  
"And what do you consider?"  
"I don't know, you're the genius."  
"It was your idea, it only makes sense if you came up with the name."  
"Artemis," says Holly, thoroughly annoyed.  
"I apoligize. I know that you get enough banter in the Lower Elements and getting some from me isn't helping."  
The line over the communicator fell silent. Not a pin drop cam be heard.  
"Holly?"  
Silence.  
"Holly?"  
Still silent.  
"Holly stop playing around."  
More silence. Artemis logs into his computer and opens a program and types some numbers in an empty field. The application changes screen to a map where a beacon would have been seen, wasn't showing. Artemis tries to bring up thepath that Holly has been. Nothing. He then access Foaly's computer and pulls up Holly's helmet feed. There was no signal and nothing in it's feed history. Artemis picks up a small communicator and talks to it, "Butler, we have a problem. Bring Juliet."


	3. Chapter 2

"What do you mean gone?"  
"She's missing, Butler," respond Artemis. "I checked her feeds and there's nothing. It's as if she has never been above ground."  
"And there was no sign of trouble?" Juliet asked.  
"No."  
"Maybe something malfuntioned making the all the feeds nonexistance."  
"That's what I thought, but why is her helmet feed acting as if she is dead."  
The room stood quiet. No one wanted to speak a word, unknowing what may forecome. Just as the room felt smaller, the monitor flashed displaying an array of color. It slowly starts to fade away revealing a small figure who was sitting on her knees, arms tied behind her, and her mouth hidden with duct tape. By the look on her eyes, it was obvious that her magic was drained out of her.  
"Holly," says Artemis subconciously.  
The screen changes to black and words slowly appears. Once it was legable it read:

You want your fairy back?  
Do as I say.

The words disappear and leaves the screen black once again. Artemis stares at the monitor wondering if more words would appear. Nothing shows up. He heads to his computer, but his phone starts to ring. Artemis and Butler look toward one another having the same thought. Who has this number and how?Artemis grabs his phone from his desk and connects it to a cable which automatically opened a program on his computer. The phone rings for a final time and Artemis picks up the phone, mid-way. The phone whizzes to life and tracks the phone on the other line. Artemis takes a deep breath, unknowing who may be on the other line, "hello?"  
"Artemis Fowl," said a deep voice.  
"Who's this?"  
"You'll find out soon. What's important is what you will do for me."  
Artemis looks up at Butler. He nods at him giving him the okay. "And what would that be?"  
"Bring your bodygaurd. Only him. No one else. No wires. No weapons. If anything goes wrong. You have been warned. And don't bother tracking me. I sent you an email of the location we shall meet. Don't be late."  
With that the phone cuts off. Artemis glances at his computer, the tracking unsuccessful. He opens up his internet browser and accesses his email. There is a new message. In it showed the time and location. A location Artemis was all to familiar with.

Rathdown Park.  
Midnight.


	4. Chapter 3

"So what are you going to do?" asks Juliet.  
"Well, we can't go unarmed?" answered Artemis.  
"We?"  
"Artemis," says Butler, "she can't come with us."  
"She has to come with us. We can't go in there alone."  
"You heard what he said. Onlu me and you can go. I'm not risking bringing Juliet."  
"Butler this is Holly we're talking about."  
"I know, Artemis, but bringing Juliet is risky and going armed is worst. Don't you remember what happens when Holly gets kidnapped. We don't want that, do we?"  
"He's right," Juliet pipes in. "We need to follow his intructions. Last thing we need is for someone to get hurt, because we failed at following it."  
"Who side are you guys on?"  
"Your side. Who else?" says a voice from the monitors. The trio look toward the monitor and sees a familiar face. Relieved yet dishearten to see him, Artemis stares at him ready to speak when he gets interupted.  
"Before you start," says he, "I've listen to your conversation and Juliet is right."  
"Mmph. Thanks, Foaly."  
"It doesn't mean that I'm letting you go blind in this. The kidnapper may have said you can't go wired, but it doen't mean you can't go in wireless. A couple iriscams, earpieces, and mics should do the trick."  
"Foaly," says Juliet, "isn't that still risky?"  
"Maybe, but it"s the only way I can keep an eye and if anything happens I can send the LEP in."  
"No," says Artemis. "The LEP would not get involved."  
"Well it's too late for that. While I was doing my usual rounds of security checks, I just happened to check on your security cameras and heard the whole situation. So I spoke to Commander Kelp and explain what happened. He assembled his best men and are now on their way to the surface. By the time you and Butler head to the park, the LEP would be nearby in case anything happens."  
"Foaly, it's too dangerous for them."  
"Don't worry, they'll be a good distance away where they won't be spotted. Plus, if trouble arise, they'll be there as if they were standing beside you."  
"Foaly-"  
"Leave it," interupts Butler. "This is much safer than going armed."  
Artemis stares at the monitors for a few seconds, then glances away. He starts to pace the carpet, lost in thought and completely unaware of his surroundings. The others knew immediately what Artemis was doing. Planning. After a few minutes of silence, Artemis walk toward his desk and opens a drawer. He takes out two small, identical circular boxes and a smaller rectangular box. He lays them on the desk.  
"I have two iriscams, both blue, an earpiece, and a mic. I've thought of any possibility , but this is the best approach to the situation. We also only have a few hours and we don't have time for any other options."  
"That explains why Holly complains that she had some items misplaced. She immediately assumed it was Mulch."  
"She or you?" asks Juliet.  
"Well, both."  
"Here's the most important question." Juliet turns and looks at Artemis and Butler. "Who's having the mic and earpiece?"  
"And that decision should be quick," says Foaly. "We don't have time to waste."


	5. Chapter 4

It was a long drive to Rathdown Park. A helicopter ride would have been faster, but Artemis knew that it was better off going quiet. Juliet stayed at the manor with the twins. Artemis's parents decided to do a last minute trip for a week, taking advantage of the summer weather, so Juliet had to stay with Beckett and Myles regardless of the situation. Artemis felt uneasy going unarmed and the mystery man knowing about the fairies. Even with the LEP nearby, it wasn't enough. For all he knew, it could be a trap. Butler and Foaly decided that it was best for Artemis to have the mic and earpiece, for if the kidnapper decides to attack, he would most likely take Butler on first than Artemis and he would be able to communicate with Foaly.  
After the drive ended, the two stayed in the Fowl Bentley unable to move, the thoughts racing in their minds of what may happen. Butler looks through the rearview mirror and sees Artemis, "are you ready?"  
Artemis look toward the zoo, "lets go."  
The two exit the Bentley and head toward the zoo. Artemis observes the park and recalls the last time he was there, of the lemur he rescued from his younger self from giving him to the Extintionist. He was later named Jayjay. Now the lemur is happy to be in his new home. Of course it wasn't all good for Rathdown Park. After Artemis got back from time traveling, the park shut down and relocated to a top secret location a hundred feet underground. To Artemis it wasn't much of a top secret location more of a hike to the irish mountains. The security was also upgraded dramatically. In retrospect, just looking at the zoo reminds him of who he was and what he has become because of it. It also reminds him of how Holly is in danger. Artemis and Butler approaches the entrance of the zoo. The lawn was overgrown full of weeds, the walls dirty with grime, and some vines climbing to the roof. The doorway was ajar. Artemis and Butler entered. Once in, it was clearly shown that the place was left deserted. The floor had the same grim as the exterior walls and some of the vines manage it's way in. The placed was illuminated with candles marking a path. The two followed its path and ended right in front of a cage. A cage that once held Jayjay and became the reason why they were they.  
Artemis bolts to the cage, "Holly."  
Holly looks up at him, relieved to see him, "you came."  
"I had to."  
"You shouldn't have come."  
"Holly, I'm not letting get hurt."  
"It's not me they want, it's-" Holly got cut off with a hand approaching from behind her holding a black scarf that was used to cover her mouth. The face couldn't be seen, but it was clear that the hands belong to a man.  
"Leave her alone."  
The hands disappear. Artemis glances at Holly, whose eyes were downcast. It was evident of the disappointment she felt of not warning Artemis. There was nothing she can do. Her magic was gone, weapons stripped off, and her communications gone. Holly gave one more look to Artemis, hoping her eyes can tell him what she meant to say with words, but was interrupted again when a voice is heard in the air.  
"Hello Artemis," says the voice. The same voice that spoke over the phone.  
Artemis turns and looks around for the voice, "Where are you?"  
"Nearby. Far. Close. Around. Ahead. Behind. Up. Down. Left. Right. You'll never know where I'm at tonight. Unfortunate for you it may be long. For you have done something wrong. You have neglected a command. You will be reprimand." Artemis and Butler toppled over with pain. Their eyes burn as if acid was poured directly on them. They hurriedly took the iriscams out and threw them on the ground. It spark like mini fireworks. " Lines or not you have been warned. Don't complain when you squirm." Artemis covers his ears when a long screeching sound starts to ring, but quickly realized that it came from his earpiece and takes it out. Directly after, Artemis feels his neck burning and removes the mic which starts to sizzle on the floor and releases smoke because of it. "Now we're clear of interruptions that will be. Did you remember to catch your Z's?" A large amount of gas pours in, instantly making Artemis and Butler unconscious.

~•°•~•*•~•°•~

Artemis slowly regains consciousness. While awaking, he could barely make out the room he's in. He also tries to make out any sounds, but the room is still. He can also smell a sweet, fruit scent and notices that it's the scent of apples. His hands lay on the arms of the chair he sits in and notices that they are not bonded also the chair is built comfortably. Artemis lays his hands over his face and tries to wake himself. Once he gains vision, he observes the room he's in. At first he couldn't believe the room room around him. He expected it to be a dark, gloomy, interrogation room, but sees an inviting, warm, study. It wasn't like his study. This one had a forest theme. Each corner of the walls had a large, synthetic tree reaching three stories high. The ceiling looked as if there was clouds passing by. There was real exotic birds flying by. The bookshelves were made of real mahogany, cut to made as if the walls were part of a tree. The bookshelves were lined with books, more books than the Fowls ever obtained. The wall ahead of Artemis was like the others, apart from the big screen that filled a third of it, at the moment it was shut off. In front of him sat a desk large enough to be a table for twenty, it's also made of mahogany and resembled to look like a large plank of wood sitting atop a tree trunk, the roots spreading over the ground. On the desk was a laptop, some more books, and a large bowl of apples. Behind the desk was a large chair, it was empty.  
"Beautiful place, isn't it," says a voice from behind. Before Artemis could turn to see who it was, the person walks to the desk and sits atop it in front of him. "You want an apple?"  
"Is it poison?"  
The person laughs. "That's funny. As if I'm the evil queen. I know I look like I may, but I'm not. I'm more of Snow White. Except for the snow skin, it's more tanned, and the raven hair, which is clearly scarlet. You know I'll eat an apple if that helps."  
"How can I trust you when you will eat the nonpoisonous one and give me one that isn't? Also, your no Snow White."  
"Au contraire, mon ami. Where I live, I'm very known and loved. I'm also the voice of many important ears and hated by one person. Who now happens to be a good friend. Am I right, Holly?"  
On the desk chair a faint shimmer can be seen and slowly starts to change into the person Artemis thought he'll never see again.  
"How was memory lane?" Holly asks.  
"Holly, you're alright. Wait, you have magic?"  
"She never lost it," replies the girl. "A bit of makeup and some acting and she looks like a million bucks."  
Holly looks at her and raises her eyebrow,"And without it?"  
"I will have to say, not near as good as me."  
"Are we here on a reunion," interrupted Artemis, "or can someone tell me where is the man that kidnapped you Holly."  
Holly looks at Artemis, then looks at the girl who in turn looks back, both thinking the same. The girl looks away toward Artemis and takes a deep breath. "Artemis, before I begin. I want to tell you that anything I say may seem unbelievable at first, but it's true and to be opened minded."  
"Start explaining and convince me."  
"I'm actually a good friend of The People, but better friends with Foaly. He's actually the reason why you are here. He and I planned this. He set the iriscams in a perfect place where you would take them and made it seem like Holly had them misplaced. The man on the line was me. I used a voice changer so you won't recognize my voice, not that you've heard it before, but a call with my voice wouldn't have been taken seriously. I also gave your parents the perfect vacation so they can be out for the week. It could have been longer, but it would have been odd for them to leave that long. Also the vacation is the only reason why I made sure Juliet stayed with the twins. I had to get you here without telling you my location, so I devise a scenario that would get you here. So I wanted to have fun with it and had Holly pretend that she was kidnapped. It was perfect."  
"Until you almost blind me and try to make me deaf."  
"I had to make it seem real, besides you're fine now. I healed you once you got here."  
"Healed me? You don't have magic, your human."  
"That's where you're wrong. I'm what you call a half-a."  
"A half-a?"  
"I'm half human, half fairy, but different." She gets out of the desk and stands still. Her body starts to bend forward and her bones pokes out a bit under the surface, then aligns itself. While doing so, her legs begins to shrink in size, her hips get smaller, her shoulders more petite. Her arms decrease making a small crackling noise in the process. Her head was the only thing that hadn't changed apart from her ears which changed from being round to pointed. Artemis couldn't believe his eyes, the girl in front of him morphed into a fairy.  
"How is this possible?"  
"To a normal human being or even a fairy, impossible. I was created like this. Made for this reason."  
"Wait. Where is Butler?"  
"He's out talking to my bodyguard, the only other human that knows of me besides yourself, Juliet, and someone else."  
"Someone else?"  
"It's actually the reason why you're here."  
"Who are you, really?"  
"Well, with the crimson hair no fairy really recognizes me. I also got a bit of a tan from hanging out in the beaches too much. My human name is Gabriella Anna Diana Lana Rivera. My fairy name is-"  
"And you wouldn't believe it if it came out of my mouth," interrupts Holly.  
"What is it," asked Artemis.  
"Lili Frond."


	6. Chapter 5

"Lili Frond," says Artemis, " the infamous Lili Frond Holly always talk about."  
Holly opens her mouth to speak, but Lili interrupts. "Yes the blonde-headed bimbo, Holly always talks about. The girl whose voice irritates her. Also the girl who everyone assumes has an I.Q. of ten, nine of those points are just for showing up. As you are aware I'm none of that."  
"Then why hide it."  
"Because then everyone will know of me, of what I am. I was an experiment. It was thought to be impossible, but then I came to life. I was forged and molded in a test tube. Many fairy and human DNA runs through my blood. Half of it is from King Frond. Hence why my name is Frond. My heart started to beat on the second day. I was a fully grown baby two months after, literally born in a lab. A year later, I was a full grown fairy. All that was left was hope. If I couldn't do what I was created for, then it was thought that hope would be lost."  
"How did you figured out that you can morph?"  
"I didn't. It came naturally. They told me to just think about it and I did. I morphed without effort. It was as if I had done it all my life. Unfortunately, every time I do morph it gives me pain. Over the years, the pain became more bearable and apart of who I am. That cracking noise you heard earlier, that hurt more than you can imagine, but I learned to accept it."  
"Who are these people who speak of?"  
"The scientist that created me, whom shall be unnamed. Even if I did tell you, you probably wouldn't know them, and there would be no way of finding out about them anyway. All their records have been deleted."  
"You did what?" exclaims Holly.  
"I deleted their records completely, certificates, medical licenses, anything that can be traced back to them, even their birth and death certificates. I know many believe that what they did was wrong, but they don't deserve to have their lives being judged, blamed, or criticized by their actions. I would have done the same if I were them."  
"Are you serious?"  
"Yes. I. Am."  
Holly couldn't believe the words that came out of Lili's mouth. "Do you know the harm they did to us?"  
"You didn't know them as much as I did."  
"I know enough to know that you have been brainwash."  
"Brainwashed? I may have been put to do 'jobs', but it doesn't mean that I'm brainwashed. I was fully aware of what I was doing and the reason why I didn't stop is that they weren't doing anything illegal."  
"That's what they want you to think, Lili."  
"Don't call me that. My name is Gabriela."  
"No. Your name is Lili."  
"I don't go by that name anymore, not since the fall of the LIB."  
"The LIB?" asks Artemis.  
"LIB means Lower Intelligence Bureau. My home." Lili, or Gabriela, explains to Artemis how it all started. At the time there were two young, foolish scientist experimenting for fun, doing tricks to others, more importantly the LEP. What they didn't know was that their intelligence could be used for something far greater than recreational use. The chief of the LIB approached the couple and offered them a position in their science division. Of course the two couldn't resist for the chief also offered them pardon on any crimes they have committed. Little did these scientist know that accepting the job would make their world be turned upside down.  
They were told to create a human and a fairy merged into one. The Bureau didn't expect to have a morphing person, but rather a person small enough to be a fairy, but tall enough to be human. With Lili they got more than they could dream of.  
"Morphing abilities," the chief tells the scientists in wonder.  
"Yes," said one if the scientists, the older one. "We were going to do as you asked, but we thought that this would be far more greater. It took a lot of trial and error, but it paid off. Isn't she a beauty?"  
"Yes she is." The chief looks down at the baby, who lays in her bed. "What's her name?"  
"Well," says the younger scientist, "since her DNA was based off of King Frond, we thought it best that she be named after him. We decided."  
The two scientists look toward the chief and said in unison, "Lili Frond."  
The chief loved the name, simple yet powerful. Perfect. After she grew older, she would be sent for training, preparing her for what may come. As impressive as her morphing abilities were, her combat skills surpassed. Lili was quick to her feet. No matter what level of training she was placed, nothing was a surprise to her. The LIB even created a master level just for her, unfortunately for them it wasn't much of a challenge. After she was ready, they would send her above ground to do secret missions to learn more about the humans. Intellect that could be use against them. Of course it wasn't all successful, the Council discovered the Bureau and what they were doing, so the LIB was shut down. It wasn't peaceful chat either, the LIB fought back. The battle was short, but deadly. The LIB had weapons that were far more powerful than the LEP. During the battle, Lili fought by the LIB side. Every step she took, every shot she made, the LEP would fall to their knees, but the LIB did not remained unscathed. Many fought, but majority were either dead or fatally wounded. Lili, who became close friends with the scientist, stood by their side. Unfortunately, that wasn't such a great idea, for the LEP were after her. In doing so, Lili's friends suffered the consequences.  
"No!" yells Lili. She rushes to their aid.  
"Lili," says the older scientist, "if they take you, do as they say."  
"No. I'm not leaving the two of you."  
"Listen to him," says the other scientist. He reaches her and holds her hands. "Trust us on this. Everything would be alright."  
"How can I be sure?"  
"You'll know," says the older one. He held her face and looked at her in the eyes. "You'll know." He turns his head to the side and closes his eyes, his arm drops to the ground.  
The younger scientist gives a final squeeze to her hands and says, "I believe in you." The tension on his hands relaxed.  
Lili felt tears riding down the side of her face, unable to stop. She gets up and reached for the gun and walks straight into the heart of the gunfight. Both sides slowly starts to cease fire as she made her way through. She looks straight toward the LEP and throws her weapon towards them, landing inches from their feet. Lili holds her hands up to her side. "I am the one you want. I hereby give myself to you."  
Both sides stare in shock, unwilling to move. For what seemed like an eternity, an officer from the LEP decides to break the silence and walk toward Lili. As the officer gets closer, Lili realizes that he's no officer, but he's someone far more important.  
"I should have figured it be you. Who else will try to fight against me?"  
"I will shut it if I were you," he says, "or your friends would regret in picking me to rescue you."  
"Rescue me? It would be the other way around, mon ami."  
"I'm not your friend." He takes Lili's arms and cuffs them behind her back. "Don't worry, we'll have these off in no time."  
"Of course these would make a wonderful presentation for your comrades, mon cher."  
"Shut up and let's get moving, Frond."  
"Anything you say, Commander Root."

Lili was seating in a small interrogation room. The wall in front was mirrored, the rest were grey. A small table sat in front of her and a chair behind it. Lili begins to tap her fingers on the table when Commander Root walks in and Foaly comes from behind. Lili sits up and looks at Root in the eyes.  
"Before you begin objecting, Frond," says Root. "Why are you here?"  
"I was brought here to learn more about the ones who drove us to live underground. To give us back the place that is rightfully ours."  
"Then you should know that your friends told the LEP about the Bureau."  
"They would never do that."  
"They did," said Foaly. He places a small transparent OLED screen on the table. He touches the screen and it comes to life. The screen reveals Root's office and the scientists sitting across his desk.  
"So what brings the two of you here?" says Root.  
"We need your help," says the older scientist. "We are from an organization that I'm sure the Council doesn't know of."  
"What organization is this?"  
"It's an organization that works on studying the human race."  
"We did something that shouldn't have been done," the other scientist says, "and because of that Fairies and humans alike could be in danger."  
"What did you do?"  
"We... we created a... a-"  
"A what? What did you create?" Root yells and slams his hands on his desk.  
The older scientist takes a deep breath and speaks. "We created a half human half fairy."  
Foaly takes the screen and and shuts it off.  
"Why would they do that?" Lili asks.  
"They did it to protect you," answers Foaly. "They didn't want you to get hurt. That's why we were sent in, to take you and shut down the Bureau. Your friends sacrificed a lot."  
Lili looks down on her hands and clamps them shut. She didn't want to believe what she saw. That her friends sacrifice their own safety for hers, but she knew that she wasn't going to be kept prison for the rest of her life in result of it. Lili stands up and walks around the table toward Root. She leans on the table with her face inches away from Root's. "What are you going to do with me?"  
"Before doing anything, I'm going to make sure you get back to your chair and tie you up."  
"I need a more definite answer. Are you going to kill me, lock me, or torture me?"  
"Like I said, Frond, you better get back to your seat."  
"Or what? You're going to shoot me."  
Root reaches for his Neutrino and notices that it has gone missing.  
"Looking for this?" Lili points the gun at Root.  
"Hand it over, or you will wish you hadn't taken it."  
"I'll give it back to you, if you do something for me."  
"That's not going to work, Frond."  
"Stop calling me Frond, Julius."  
"You don't call me Julius."  
"I can call you Julius if I want to, Julius."  
"Lili," says Foaly, "can you please hand over the gun?"  
Lili turns the gun and points it at Foaly. "I wasn't talking to you horseboy."  
"What is you want?" Root ask, trying to divert the attention off Foaly.  
"I'm not falling for that one, Julius." Lili spins around and kicks an officer that was behind her, knocking him to the ground and shoots him at his chest and points the gun back at Root. "Next one that comes and I will adjust the settings to maximum."  
"Alright. We'll give you what you want, just let us step out for a minute and we could see what we can do."  
"No. I know your games. I may study human intellect, but I know enough about the LEP to shut it down. Foaly can leave. He has done enough, so he's not needed."  
Foaly walks toward the door and exits the room. He stands on the other side of the mirrored window, watching the two.  
"All this could have been diverted if you just listen to us, Lili."  
"Listen to you? My friends are gone because of you. If you were working with them, then why are they dead? Wouldn't you have protected them as well?"  
"Yes. We were going to, but we didn't know the LIB would attack us."  
"Then you should have been more prepare."  
"We were and always prepare. Frond, Lili, your friends wanted you to have a better life. A normal life."  
"How can I have a normal life? Everyone will think I'm from a freak show in a circus."  
"That's why we are here."  
Lili stays silent for a moment and thinks back to her friends. Their last words echoing throughout her mind "do as they say", "listen to him." Maybe they were right. All she had to was listen. She lowered the Neutrino to her side. "Why am I here, Commander?"  
"We want you to work with us. You will make a great addition."  
"I don't want that. I just want to be a normal."  
"You can. Below ground you can be whoever you wish to be. Above ground you can do what you do best, of course without the whole human spying business."  
"You're not lying to me?"  
"No. We discussed this with the Council and they agree that this would be a good plan. They were more than happy to have you in the LEP."  
"They were happy? That sounds very unlike them."  
Root laughs. "That's what we thought too, but they were actually serious."  
Lili places the gun on the table. "Then I won't be much use to this. You said I could be whoever I want, then why not be the girl everyone loves to hate."


	7. Chapter 6

" Mmph... that explains why Root will suggest your name every time something big happens."  
Lili smirks. "Like the troll. He was a feisty one, wasn't he? Amazing species though, strong and capable of doing so much yet hopelessly drowned in uncontrollable aggression."  
Holly looked toward Lili. "Who mentioned anything about a troll?"  
"It was implied."  
"How could you have known about that, Lili?"  
"How could I not know about that? And don't call me Lili."  
"I can call you Lili if I want."  
"Not while I am around."  
"Lili," Holly says threatening.  
"Polly."  
Polly, thinks Holly. She remembers back to that day when she was after Doodah Day and a gnome called her Polly Little. She wondered where he could have thought that as her name, then realizes something. "That was you?"  
"Yes. You're welcome."  
Holly glares at her, thoughts rolling through her mind. "The troll was your doing?"  
"Back to the troll again. No. It wasn't me."  
"Then why did you even mentioned it?"  
"Because I can."  
"It's because you did something."  
Lili inspects her nails. "I didn't do anything."  
Artemis awaits while the two argue. By the look on Lili's eyes, or Gabriella as she wishes to be called, it looks as if she is speaking the truth, yet how can he be so sure if she convinced him that Holly was kidnapped. He does note that she often looks at her nails or periodically looks around the room, traits that are often linked to lying. Either this is a habit she has formed over the years in disguise or she is lying.  
"Lili," says Holly.  
"Fine you insist on calling me that, then go ahead."  
"Why? Give up so soon."  
"Holly," Artemis interrupts, unable to handle another minute of this, "that's enough."  
The two, in the midst of arguing, completely forgot that Artemis was in the room. Holly begins to object, but Artemis stops her. "Yelling and insulting one another won't solve anything." He looks toward Lili. "Lying won't help either."  
"How would you know? You barely know me."  
"Every time Holly asks a question you either look down at your nails or inspect the room. Those are two signs that you are hiding something."  
Lili looks at Artemis in the eyes and realizes that he really figured her out in a matter of minutes, something that took others years to accomplished. She turns and faces Holly, "you want the truth? I may have helped the troll hitch a ride up above ground."  
"You put people's lives at stake."  
"Well, that wasn't part the plan, he wasn't suppose to get that close to civilians."  
"Yet you thought it was alright to let a brainless monster above ground."  
"You don't have to lecture me, I got enough of that from Root. I was banned from going above ground for a year."  
"Then why do it?"  
"Like you wouldn't know. It is the reason why you're here."  
"That still doesn't explain why."  
"Alright. I planned it so the Council could get out of my back. If you could have pull this task, then they would leave me alone."  
"So you people's live at risk and almost got me killed so you can go and enjoy freedom?"  
"It wasn't intended to be like that. No one was suppose to get hurt."  
"Well, you should've thought that, maybe acting like an airhead caused you to be one." The room stayed quiet, tension building up. "Wait a second, if none of this had happened then Root would most likely be alive."  
"Root's death has nothing to do with this."  
"You said that you're so good that the LIB created a special training ground for you, then why didn't you help him?"  
"I couldn't, I was a good distance away during that time, there was no way to get there."  
"What were you doing? Sightseeing above ground."  
"No. I had other important things."  
"More important than helping?"  
"Like I said earlier, I was doing something else. There was no way to help and even if I could have I didn't found out about the death until after. Since then, I've been put into hiding. The Council didn't want Opal to get her hands on me."  
"It still gives me a real excuse to hate you." Holly storms off and heads toward the door.  
"Holly. You don't understand."  
Holly turns around. "I understand enough to know that I shouldn't have come." With that she walks off and leaves the room before Lili could say another word.  
"Great. Now everything is ruined."  
"Well you could have prevented it by telling the truth," says Artemis.  
Lili turns and faces Artemis. "Not you too."  
"She does make a good point. All of this could have been prevented because of one troll."  
"Hypothetically, it could have, but you don't understand."  
"How bad was it?"  
"What?"  
Artemis looks at her and Lili understands what he means. She walks to her desk and sits on the chair. Lili opens a drawer to her right and takes out a large stack of papers. She drops it on the desk and pushes it toward the front. "If Holly saw this, she would understand." Artemis walks over to the desk and looks over the papers. The more he goes through the stack the harder it is to believe what he is reading. After a short while, Artemis looks up with disbelief, "this isn't possible."  
"It is. Now you see why I did what I did. It is also why I changed my identity."  
"Why are you showing me this?"  
"I trust you. You came a long way to get to where you at."  
Artemis chuckles. "Twice."  
Lili smiles back. "More like three times."  
"True, but the second time was quick."  
The two exchange laughs, then it was over quicker than it started. "Who else knows of this?" asks Artemis.  
"Just one." At that moment a rustling noise can be heard on Lili's right. Emerging from what seems like a hoard of aluminum foil comes out a familiar friend. "Foaly," says Artemis.  
"Remind me to do a more comfortable cam foil," says Foaly. "Why didn't you guys tell me it itches?"  
"You were here the whole time? Or is that really you?"  
"If this is really me, will I be able to do this?" Foaly walks over to him and punches him on the shoulder.  
"There was no need for that."  
"It was either that or a big kiss."  
"Okay Foaly," says Lili. "The two of you can make up later. We have far more important things to discuss."  
"Before we begin, who else is here?" asks Artemis.  
"No one else. Watch." Lili takes out a remote from one of the drawers and presses a button. From the ceiling some pink flowers petals begin to fall and lands softly on the ground. If there was someone else in the room, the petals would have either landed on them or bounced off.  
"What is the point of this, Lili?" asks Foaly.  
"Because it's fun and I could do it."  
"It's pointless."  
"Whatever. Your opinion is non-existence to me."  
"If I remember clearly my opinion is what got you to live here."  
"Yea, yea. It was either this or have the Council on your back."  
"I thought we were going to discuss more important matters?" asks Artemis.  
"We are."  
"Then I have a few questions. Why is Foaly above ground? Why did you fake a kidnapping? How does Butler and Juliet know about this? And more importantly, who is this other person that knows about you?"  
"Hold your horses cowboy. All your questions will be answered shortly."


	8. Chapter 7

Lili reaches for an item on the top shelf of a pantry, but couldn't quite make it. She looks around the kitchen and around the house looking for a stool, but couldn't find it. She then remembers that she could morph, but worries that anyone can come by and see her. On another note, she was craving for something sweet and if she doesn't get what she wants, she would get cranky. Lili debates about it for a few minutes and comes to a decision. She convinces herself that no one will come by and she is alone in her house anyway so she can morph. Lili buckles over, her legs and arms gets longer, and her torso and hips widen. Before you know it Lili is a human. Feeling enthusiastic she walks back to the pantry and grabs what she wants. "Mmm. Snickerdoodles," she says. Lili enjoys eating human food. Whenever she goes above ground she takes advantage and eats as much food as she can. She even tries to smuggle some below ground, but it's never enough. Lili often thought about making her own, but the aroma would be strong that it would be sensed all over Haven City. Beside, they're easier to get pre-made than to make them herself and if Foaly was to find out she'll be in a world of trouble. After savoring a couple of cookies, Lili saves the others for another day and places it back on the shelf. She walks over to the refrigerator and reaches for a water bottle when the doorbell can be heard. Lili takes a sip of the water and places the bottle on the kitchen counter and walks toward the front of the house and opens the door.  
On the other side, the back of the person was seen and appears that he was inspecting her front yard. It was obvious who he was. "Hello officer," says Lili.  
"It's commander to you," he replies while turning. The minute he turns and faces her, his eyes turn wide and he jumps toward her knocking her to the ground. "Who are you? What have you done with Lili? How did you even get here?"  
Shocked and surprised Lili looks at him. "Trouble, it's me."  
"Shut up! How do you know my name? Where's Lili? If you did anything to her, I am authorized to use full force."  
Lili then realizes that she is still in her human form and forgot to morph back. "Oh no. How great. Trouble come down. I am Lili."  
"I said shut up, mud worm."  
"I am not a worm." Lili kicks the door shut. "System lockdown," she yells at the house.  
"Access granted," the house replies with her voice. The doors locks tight and an electric force field covers them. Bulletproof shutters rolled down from the windows making it impenetrable. The outer walls are filled with small spikes bearing poison on their tips. Lili grabs Trouble's helmet and takes it off. She cuts off the communication with a single flip of a switch and throws it to her right. Lili quickly grabs Trouble's Neutrino and throws it across the other side of the room. Then she switches position with him, making her on top and restrains his arms, her face inches away from his. "Trouble. Listen to me-"  
"No," Trouble interrupts. "You listen to me." Trouble manages to release himself from her grasp and throws her to his right and heads for his gun. Lili was quick, she jumped to her feet and reaches for his arms. Trouble notices and does a spin kick, but Lili jumps over and toward him grabbing him on the arms and knocking him to the ground.  
"Trouble. Stop!" yells Lili. "I'm not going to hurt you."  
"Who are you? How do you know my name?"  
"It's me. Lili."  
"No you're not! You imposter!" He pushes her to his side and goes atop her and starts to swing punches toward her face. Lili blocks every attack and pushes him off of her. This time he gets up and runs for his helmet, puts it on, and shields himself. He tries to put the communications back on it, but doesn't succeed.  
"Shielding. It's about time. I was wondering when you would and you can try all you want with the communications. Even if you did manage to get them on, there's no way to speak to anyone, for I blocked any communications from coming in or out of here."  
Trouble ignores her and continues working on the helmet. With no success once again he gives up and quickly decides to run over to his gun. Before he could reach it, Lili heads for the gun and throws it to the other side of the room. "How did you-" Before Trouble could finish his line Lili grabs his arms and pins him against the wall causing Trouble to release his shield. "Who are you? How did you know where I was."  
"Tinted lenses. Courtesy of that kid-genius. Well, he's no kid anymore."  
"Who sent you here?"  
"Trouble, it's me. I am no enemy."  
Trouble snorts. "Enemy. You are trying to kill me."  
"Kill you? More like defending myself. You're the one trying to reposition my face." Lili backs off. "I can prove to you that I am Lili." Her back arched and her legs and knees bend getting smaller. Lili falls on her knees in a crawling position and her torso and hips shrink. She gets up and faces Trouble.  
"What are you?" Trouble says with disgust. He dashes toward her and pushes her causing her to land on a side table in the room. He tries to punch her in the face, but Lili rolls to the side and gets up. He kicks his leg toward her, but she shifts out of the way. Trouble swings his fist toward her face again and Lili moves her head to the side barely making it out of the way. He kicks his foot forward and lands it on Lili's abdomen, making her hit a nearby wall and having picture frames and wall art crashing on the ground. Lili, surprised, falls to the ground and holds her abdomen. Trouble heads toward her and swings his fist toward her face, determine to make it land, but Lili blocks it with her arms, making them burn afterward. She lowers her arms. "Trouble. Please stop." Lili holds her abdomen again. "Heal," she whispered. Magic flows from her hands and swirls around her abdomen.  
Trouble stops for a few seconds and stares at the magic, "prove to me then that you that are her."  
"Isn't this enough."  
"Magic and a voice-activating system isn't enough. Anybody can hack into this system."  
"Not everybody. Just two." The magic finishes off and heads for her arms. "I am who I say I am."  
"That's not enough."  
"Trouble."  
"How do you even know my name?"  
The magic finished working her arms and Lili gets up with her face inches from his. "I am Lili. I have always been."  
Not wanting to hear any more he grabs her neck and pushes her against the wall, having her legs extended in the air. Lili grabs his arms and tries to kick him, but Trouble shifts over to the side. "Trouble," Lili says, having a hard time breathing. Her vision starts to blur and the edges begin to darken, due to the lack of oxygen. "Trouble." Lili's strength decrease and her vision darkens even more. "Trubs." With that Lili passes out.

Lili awakens ever slowly and rubs her eyes trying to regain vision. She looks around and sees that she is still in her home, laying on her sofa. On the other side she sees Trouble sitting and Foaly standing beside him. Lili sits up, rubbing her head wishing the headache would subside. "Trouble," says Foaly, "you are one lucky person she's alive."  
"How long you've been here?" asks Lili.  
"Long enough to stop Trouble from finishing you off."  
"The Council?"  
"Not here. We wouldn't want them to get wind of this or you'll be in a load of trouble."  
"Sorry," Lili says sarcastically. "I had to get tall to reach for an item."  
"Oh, right and after stuffing your face with cinnamon sweets you forget to morph back so no one can see you. Do you know the harm you would have caused if it wasn't Trouble who knocked on your door?"  
Lili's face burns red. "How long did you knew?"  
"Long enough."  
"You were smuggling food?" asks Trouble then faces Foaly. "And you didn't told me about this?"  
"How could I? After all she's done for the LEP, she deserves a treat, besides there's no harm in what she did."  
"Just because she's LEP doesn't mean she can get away with anything."  
"Well, there was no harm," repeats Foaly and the case was dismissed.  
"Trouble," Lili says while looking straight in his eyes, "promise me that this will be kept between us."  
Unable to break the bond, Trouble looks back. "I promise, but this will take some getting used to."  
"Well, we can put this behind us."  
"Good luck," says Foaly while inspecting the damage they caused. "I should get going I had many important things to do before I got interrupted. I was hoping to get out early to spend time with Caballine."  
"I am sorry. I will give your dear Caballine my apologize and offer a romantic dinner for two and give you anything you want."  
Foaly snorts. "Yea right."  
"I'm serious. Anything you want."  
"Anything?"  
"Anything," repeats Lili.  
"Fine. I'll hold you to it."  
"She knows about you?" asks Trouble.  
"No, but we've been good friends for a while."  
"On that note," Foaly says, while walking away, "the two of better behave."  
"We will," Lili states and Foaly leaves the house.  
Trouble gets up, walks toward the window, and watches Foaly aboard a Cruiser. When Foaly arrived at the house, he got into the system with just a press of a button, which lowered down the house security allowing him to just walk in. The system was made so in case of an emergency Foaly can get first alert and is able to get visual reports of any danger. When he received the alert, he was able to see all the events unfold before his eyes. At first he couldn't believe what he was watching, but quickly realized that Trouble could really do some harm against Lili, so he quickly rushed over. Once Foaly left, the place seemed much quieter. "Who are you?" Trouble asks.  
"I thought we went over this."  
"No." He turns around. "I mean who are really?"  
Lili gets up and walks toward him. "I'm still the same person, just a bit more stronger than you."  
"Did you already forgot who won?"  
"No. I let you win."  
"Lili. I'm serious."  
She reach forward and holds Trouble's hands tightly. "I am still the same girl you meet. I may be a lot stronger or smarter, but it doesn't mean that I am not her. Just think about it as if I am just an upgraded version. I think you may like it better."  
Trouble looks into her eyes and searches for that girl he met. While going deeper inside he sees her, the girl that makes him laugh and smiles every time she sees him. The girl that would sneak into his office just so she can spend more time with him. Or the girl that would always smell of sweet, tangy roses. "I know who you are. A blond, clueless, brat," Trouble says jokingly.  
"Don't forget that she calls herself a princess."  
Trouble laughs. "A dimwitted princess."  
"Which I am a princess."  
The two laugh then Trouble looks away for a second and thinks on how Lili is this fun girly-girl he met a while back and how he met the girl who could have done more harm to him than he would have done to her today. He looks back her unable to accept it. "I can't fully grasp this person you are, Lili."  
"Maybe this would help." Lili leans forward making her face closer to his and gently lays her lips on his. Trouble, unexpecting this, freezes with shock. Lili, aware of what was happening, moves closer while taking her hands and cradles his face. Trouble then feels a warm feeling spread across his body and relaxes. He pushes forward wanting more, but then he jerks back realizing what he has done. "I can't do this." he says.  
"Trouble. It's me."  
"I know it's just."  
"The whole morphing thing. I know, but it doesn't mean that everything changes between us, Trubs."  
"Don't call me that."  
"I've always called you that," says Lili shocked.  
"I just can't-"  
"Stop." Lili covers his mouth. "Don't fight with yourself and follow your heart." She releases her hand and lays it on his chest. "What is you want?"  
Trouble stays quiet for a while, then raises his hands and holds her face. "I don't need to say it."  
"Trouble-"  
"Shhh," he interrupts and leans in to kiss her again, this time it was much better than before. After they finished Lili asked one question, "why did you come here anyway?"  
"I got out of work early since there was nothing to do and wanted to stop by and take you out for dinner or something."  
Lili hums with hunger. "Dinner, huh? How about we go to Disney and get ourselves some big turkey legs and then we can have some candy apples for dessert?"  
Trouble laughs. "How can you eat so much and still be so thin?"  
"It does help that I was boosted with high metabolism when I was born. Unfortunately, I'm always hungry and I have to eat practically every hour."  
"And that's unfortunate? Do you know what people would give to have your stomach."  
"Yes, but it can get painstaking to be eating all the time, especially when I have an image to keep."  
"Oh, that's a bummer," Troubles voice drips with sarcasm.  
"Stop," Lili says while giving him a playful push. "So are we going to Disney?"  
Trouble thinks about it for a moment. Even though they can't be around humans, Disney is the only "safe haven" where fairies can roam without being noticed. Humans will think that they are either part of the attraction or very well-dressed eight-year olds. Although, it's never recommended to go there anyway. After some deliberation, Trouble looks at Lili and says, "Oh... there's nothing else to do anyway and things have been going very slow, so... Why not."

A week later

"What do you mean gone?"  
"She's gone Commander," replies an officer, "she went above ground site seeing, I guess, and her feeds disappear."  
"Where's Foaly?"  
"On his way sir."  
Minutes later, Foaly comes in Trouble's office holding a small briefcase and places it on the table. He looks at the officer in the room then at Trouble. "You're job here is done, Harx, you are dismissed," says Trouble.  
"Yessir," says the officer and leaves the room.  
Foaly opens the briefcase. In it was a screen and a keyboard. Foaly presses a button on the screen and it lights up. He types on the keyboard and a video image shows up, it was Lili's video feed. At first it shows her going over some mountain ranges, then flying over a river and toward an oak tree. She leans over and picks up an acorn and recites the ritual. Once she finishes, she climbs to the top of the tree and leaves her gear. Lili takes the helmet off and morphs to her human form. She then removes the small camera on the helmet and places it in the button of her blouse. Lili climbs down the tree and makes her way to a nearby town. It wasn't easy heading there since she has to make way through a forest. Halfway there, Lili gets ambushed. A masked man approaches her and tries to restrain her but Lili manages to paralyze the man's arm. Two more men approach, but Lili does the same. Then an arm appears unannounced covering the camera and a voice is heard, "I have been waiting for you."  
"You're going to have to wait longer, mist-," says Lili, but suddenly was silence.  
The camera gets shaken and removed from her blouse and then faces a masked man. "You want your friend, try finding me first." The camera is thrown on the ground and crushed.  
Foaly stops the video, "I ran a voice recognition of the two men and it came up blank. Whoever these men are they are quick in erasing themselves before launching an attack. I've searched all the local gangs, business, residential and none matched the men's description. I even did a worldwide search and came up empty."  
"We can't just sit here and do searches on your computer. I need men above ground searching for her now."  
"I haven't finished. I may not have the names of the men, but I found out where they are from. I was looking over the feed and saw that one of the men was wearing a watch." He types on the keyboard and lets the video play. It started when the two men approached and one of the men reached for Lili and she grabs his arm. Foaly stops the video. "See it?"  
"Yes, but how is a watch going to tell us where they are from?"  
"Let me show you." Foaly types on the keys again which made the video zoom closer to the watch, then Foaly adds a filter that made the video feed clearer to see. On the face of the watch it says,

Maggio trentesimo  
Giorno del nostro primo incontro  
Venezia

"May thirtieth. Day we met. Venice," says Trouble. "How can we be sure that they are Italian? Their voice did not have an accent."  
"That may be so, but the wife must be. I ran a search of all the women who passed by Venice on May thirtieth and came up with this." He types on the keyboard and brings up a photo of a happy couple on their wedding day. The background was set on a deck overlooking the Venice canals. The woman was dressed in a lovely white gown with a train encircling the two and the man wore a white suit and tie bearing a huge smile on his face. If you were to look closer, it was visible that the man wore the same watch as the one in the video.  
"That's the man," exclaims Trouble.  
"Yes it is, but I couldn't find out the name of the man. Instead, he left me the name of his wife which help me find out where they live."  
"Where?"  
"The most obvious place. Venice, Italy."


	9. Chapter 8

Lili's Home, Above Ground, Unknown Location; Present Day

The group was assembled in her study. Artemis was still sitting on the same chair. Butler stood behind him. Holly stood beside Artemis, wishing that she didn't needed to come back. Juliet stood beside her and Foaly stood next to Lili, who was sitting behind her desk. The twins were with Lili's bodyguard occupying themselves in a room Lili created just for them.  
"Tell them what happens next?" asks Juliet.  
"That's where I was heading," says Lili. "After I got kidnapped, you wouldn't believe what, or shall I say, who I saw."  
Lili types into the keyboard of her laptop and brings up a photo behind her on the monitor. Everyone, except Holly, looks onto the monitor shocked at the photo they were looking at. They didn't know whether to believe it or think it was fiction.  
"Is this a joke?" says Artemis.  
"No," replied Lili.  
"Trust me it's not," says Foaly. "I found it hard to believe myself when she told me, but once I did a brain scan, I knew she wasn't lying."  
"That's impossible," says Artemis. "I saw her die in front if me."  
"I know," says Lili. "I thought it'll be a clone of her or something else, but it wasn't."

~•°•~•*•~•°•~

Above Ground, Unknown Location; About a Year Ago

Lili wakes up in a very dark room, the only light showing was directly above her. Her body was upright on a sixty degree angle lying on a metal backboard. Her arms and legs were shackled with a large brace that formed evenly across her joints, making it impossible to get out. Lili inspects the room, looking for a way out and is unable to see anything that is a five foot radius around her. Then footsteps can be heard in front of her and little by little the person's figure can be seen. At first Lili couldn't believe what she was seeing, but after several blinks and double takes it was evident that the person in front of her was the person Lili feared of ever meeting.  
"Lili Frond, isn't it?" says the person.  
"Hello," greets Lili. "If this doesn't make anyone believe in ghost stories, then I don't know what will."  
"You are always a joke, aren't you?"  
"I'll rather be a jokester than a murderer, Opal."  
"Oh Lili. Don't make me regret keeping you alive."  
"Like I said, murderer."  
"I wouldn't talk if I were you or did you forget the war between the LIB and LEP? It seems you've killed more people than I ever did in a lifetime."  
"There's a different between killing and murdering. Of course someone like you would never understand that."  
Opal moved closer to Lili and puts her hand on a lever to the right of Lili and pulls it toward herself causing Lili to be perpendicular to the ground and her face inches from Opal's. "You are lucky I need you alive," says Opal.  
"Actually, you're the lucky one," says Lili. "You would have never spoken a word the minute you came in, have I not been restrained." Lili felt Opal's fingers wrap around her neck. "Kill me. I dare you."  
Opals fingers loosen up and released themselves from her neck. Instead her hand went to her hips taking out a small tube. She removes the cap revealing a very sharp needle. "I would have done this while you were sleeping, but I wanted to see your face while it was inserted under your skin."  
"I under went plenty of needles while in training. There's nothing you can do that would hurt me."  
Opal took the needle and inserted it in Lili's arm. Lili held her breath, remembering all the times she's been through this. She remembered the first time she got a shot and fainted a minute after getting it. Even after getting her other shots in the months to come, she fainted right after every single shot. Lili had to go through intensive therapy to train herself to remove that fear. She could never understand why she would faint, but the doctors explain that it's a natural reaction for some patients to faint after getting a shot. Seeing that half her DNA is composed of mixed human DNA it will make sense that she inherited that from one of her "relatives". After Opal took a sample of her blood, Lili prayed that her years of therapy didn't go to waste.  
"I would have thought you'll faint on me," says Opal. "Seeing the reports of your incidents."  
"How did you found out about me?" asked Lili, trying to divert her mind away from the shot.  
"That's on a need-to-know basis."  
"Well I need to know, so I guess you should tell me."  
"Here's on thing I can tell you." She looks straight into Lili's eyes. "I've been waiting a long time for someone like you."  
"If that's the case, why didn't you come and get me earlier?"  
"Because I died before I ever found out about you."  
"Then how are here talking to me? You should be nothing but a figment of everyone's imagination. Your life only existed until the point you decided to kill your younger self, then become a supernova. In which Artemis successfully managed to make you obsolete." Opal slapped Lili across the face, giving her a deep red mark on her cheek. Lili turn her face to reveal her other cheek. "Why not do the same to my other cheek."  
Opal walks away until you can no longer see her. A minute later you can hear a door open then close. Then the light above her shut off causing the room to be pitch black. In the darkness, quiet footsteps can be heard all around her. Lili felt a small pinch on her neck and the footsteps slowly sounded further and further away.

Lili woke up once again, but instead of being in a dark room shacked onto a metal board, she was in a small cell. The walls, floor, and ceiling were stainless steel. On top of the side walls were vents. Lili was laying on a bed, in the back, right corner of the cell. There was a toilet and sink in the other side. Further down the wall a small desk and chair sat. Atop the desk laid some toiletry, a notebook, and a pen. Lili sat up and looked toward the front. A large steel door was directly in front of her with a small, glass window on top. Lili gets up and walks toward the door and peers through the window, all that can be seen is another door directly ahead just like hers. Lili notices that the doors had no door handle, nothing that shows that the doors can be opened from the outside. She looks around her cell and sees a bulge on the top corner of the wall, above the toilet, going into the cell. Lili knew immediately that had to be where a camera was nested. She had a feeling Opal was smiling at her, telling her to don't think of escaping.  
Lili sat back on her bed with her back resting against the wall. A few quiet minutes passed by and a soft yet crisp voice can be heard from the vent above her, singing. The song was unkown to Lili, then again she wasn't one to be fond of music, but her voice wasn't anything Lili has ever heard of. Unwanting to interrupt her, Lili waited until she finished her song to say anything, "hello?" says Lili.  
"Hello," says the mysterious singer.  
"What's your name?"  
"I don't have a name. They call me Experiment 2480."  
"Experiement?" Lili was surprised that she didn't have a name, yet she wasn't shocked that this person was an experiment. "If you don't mind me asking. What are you supposed to be?"  
It was silent for a while, until Experiment 2480 decides to speak, "I was an experiment gone wrong. And not a pretty sight to look at either. Just imagine a cross between a sprite and a goblin." Lili tried to imagine, but just couldn't bring up an image that satisfy the look she was trying to go for. "Hard to imagine, huh? I was supposed to be the ideal war machine. Have the ability to fly and conjure fire to enemies below me, instead they get a one-winged creature who can't summon fire at will. And don't get me started on my face. They would have executed me, have I not sung to them. My voice is the only thing keeping me alive"  
Lili felt bad for this person. To be imprison for life, but kept alive by her heavenly voice. She also had more insight on what Opal plans on doing. Lili couldn't stay there much longer, she had to get out. She may have never seen the halls of this building, but she was certain she can make her way out.  
"Experiment 2480," calls Lili.  
"Yes," she respond.  
"Have you ever thought of giving yourself a name?"  
"No. It never crossed my mind."  
Of course not, thought Lili. "I have a name. Why not, Kalliope."  
"That's pretty, but it doesn't fit me."  
"Yes, it does. You have a beautiful voice and what a more fitting name than Kalliope."  
There was a short silence. "I guess your right."  
There was another silence. "What are you supposed to be?" asks Kalliope.  
Lili wasn't sure to tell her much about herself. The information she tells, may put her in danger, but it could be what will let her out of here. "Let's say, I'm what Opal has always waited for."  
There was a short silence, then whispers can be heard all around. It was as if Lili was surrounded. Then slowly the voices got louder and louder, until it became screams and howls and banging can be heard all around. Behind the chaos, Kalliope's voice can be heard clear as day, "We should have never spoken."  
Lili's heart stopped for a moment. Kalliope was right, they should have never spoken.  
Lili stares at the wall ahead, the only thoughts going through her head was to get out. Staying could mean her death. Her prison door opens and the noise around her doubles. A guard walks in with needle in his right hand and just as he was about to inject its content in her neck, Lili grabs his hand and puts the needle through his neck causing him to pass out. Before Lili dashes out, she takes the guard's gun and realizes that it's a Nuetrino. She stares at the gun and wonders what other weapons did Opal possesses and who else is working for her. She decides to speculate on that after she has left this building. Lili walks toward the door, but then looks at the vent above the bed and says, "I'll be back, Kalliope. I promise."  
Lili turns left from her cell, seeing that's where the guard came from. The hallway was just like her cell, stainless steel from floor to ceiling. It reminded her of the times she'll go through a mirror maze, except in this hallway you can see the outlines of the cell doors and where the hallway joins another. She runs through the hallway and stops before entering the adjoining hallway. There was two ways to go, left or right. Lili looks at both sides and sees that they both lead to another hallway. She turns to the right and quickly pauses at the end and looks at both sides and the results are the same. Lili decides to take a left and pauses once again and inspects both sides only to see two guards heading straight toward her on her left. Lili makes a run to her right and enters the next hallway on her left and leans against the wall. She knows the only way out was in the same direction the guards came in, so she takes the Nuetrino and powers it up. To her luck, it was one of the older versions that didn't require a fingerprint to use. She puts it to half power, enough to let the guards have a good night sleep. The first guard passes by and Lili quickly shoots him before he ever knew she was there. The next guard was aware that she was there and points his gun at her, but Lili was faster at stopping him. Then she heads for the direction they came from which lead her a set of steel doors. Both doors were just like the cell doors. She inspects the door seeing if there's a way to open it, but sees that there isn't. To her surprise it opens, leading her to an elevator.  
Lili was unsure of going into the elevator. For all she knew it could be a trap, but staying could be far worse. She walks in and the doors closes behind her. The elevator was just like the halls. Lili wonder how someone can aquire so much stainless steel, but then again this is Opal she was talking about. She turns around and faces the door. The place where normally an elevator control panel is located was bare. Lili started to regret walking into the elevator, but there is nothing she can do about that now. She gets the Nuetrino ready for anything that could be on the other side if the door. The elevator stopped. Lili looked above the door and saw that the floor number was double zero.  
The door opens and to Lili's surprise there was no one. Before stepping out, she does a full inspection and saw a slight shimmer directly ahead of her. Fairy or possibly one of Opal's experiments. Whoever it was they were going to have a nice, long sleep. Lili shoots in the direction and sees that it was indeed a fairy, specifically an elf. She steps out into the hall and, unlike the prison halls, this looked like an ordinary office floor. There was a desk to her left and hallways on both sides and the front. She notices a group of guards running toward her on her left. Lili dashes forward and zigzags through the halls. One technique that she learned from her training was to never be predicable and doing many turns in random order was the best way to be unpredicable. Lili enter a room she came by. She turned around hoping to not have entered a room full of people, instead she found herself in a closet full of the usual nurse and doctor attire. She quickly puts on one of the doctor's outfit, complete with a mask and hairnet.  
Lili hides the Nuetrino under her labcoat and leaves the closet. She walks down the halls like a normal person would. She makes her way through an intersection until she hears a guard calling toward her telling her stop. Lili stops and places her hand on the Nuetrino.  
"All staff are ordered to stay in their rooms," says the guard.  
Just then a guard enters the hall ahead of Lili. He stops in his tracks and stares at her. "She has a gun!" yells the second guard. He points his gun at Lili and fires.  
Lili ducks and fires at the guard ahead, knocking him down. She then spins around and shoots the other gaurd. Lili looks to both sides of the hall and sees that one of them ends with an elevator. She heads in that direction and notices that the elevator is just like the other one. She looks around and saw another door on the left wall. On it hanged a stair sign with a large window below. Lili kicks the window causing it to shatter. She jumps through and quickly makes her way down the stairs. The first door she passed on the floor below had the number twenty-two written above it. Lili had a long way down, but stairs were no match for her up or down. She made her way to the first floor in a short amount of time. All the doors on the way down were identical, so Lili kicks this door's window in and jumps through it entering a very large, tunnel-like space. At the end of the tunnel was a large wall slanted inward. Lili runs toward it and sees the outlines of a door and an opening to her right by a large window. She enters in the opening and notices a guard sitting behind a large control panel. Lili takes her Nuetrino and shoots the guard. She quickly went to the control panel and looked for a button to open the door. Luckily there was a button that said it. Lili pressed it and heard the noise of the motor opening the door. She went out and stands by the massive door, slowly sliding its way into the ceiling above.  
"Where do you think you're going?" says a voice behind her. Lili wondered how long it took for her to reach her.  
Lili turns around. "Hello, Opal," she greets. "It's a pleasure to see you."  
Opal stood a good distance from Lili, but she was close enough to do any harm she wishes upon her. Opal was flanked by two guards by her sides. "Did you really think that you can escape so easily?"  
"A girl can't hope, can't she?"  
"If you worked on the opposite side of the law, we could have made a good team."  
Lili smirked. "If I did, you would wish to switch sides of the law."  
Opal glared at her. She moved her head slightly to her side and told her guard, "now."  
Both guards drew their Nuetrino and started to aim toward Lili. Meanwhile, Lili took her Nuetrino, started to quickliy mess around with the buttons and switches, and threw it toward Opal and the guards making it land between herself and them. Upon it landing, the Nuetrino explodes causes an electric field around it. Lili seizes the chance and rolls herself under the door. She gets up and examines her surrounding and notices that it's night time. The sky held millions of a stars and a large full moon. By looking at the constellation, Lili can tell that she was in the Northern hemisphere, but that couldn't help her know exactly where she was located. She looks around and sees that she's standing on a large mountain and there was another to her right. Ahead of her, she can see the shimmer of what appeared to be water.  
Lili quickly makes her way down the mountain. She knew the further away she got from Opal, the least likely she'll be to follow her. The Nuetrino she caused to explode will only halt Opal for a few hours and since it was night time, Opal would make sure to closed the door before any of that light could shine through. Lili occassionally looked behind her and saw that no one was coming after her.  
The mountain hike was very long, but Lili made it toward the bottom faster than anticipated. She started to make her way into the woods and into the direction of the water. After a while of trekking through the woods, Lili could hear some rustling of branches. She stopped for a moment and looked around only to be greeted by a flash of light toward her eyes.  
"Ohh, I am so sorry," said a voice. The light was quickly taken away from Lili, the person then makes his way toward her. "Are you lost?"  
Before Lili answers, she lets her eyes adjust to the darkness around her. She looked over to the man who spoken to her and noticed that he was young, possibly in his late twenties. "No," Lili answered. "I'm just traveling the woods, that's all."  
"Really?" The man didn't sound convinced. "A young lady shouldn't be traveling the woods alone."  
"Neither should a man."  
"My camp is not that far from here."  
Camp? thought Lili, if this man was camping, that meant that there are others around.  
"Are you with friends?"  
"Yeah. My wife and a couple of other friends."  
Mmm, thought Lili. "That's nice. How long are you here for?"  
"Just two more nights, you?"  
"I just got here yesterday, planning on staying for a few nights."  
"By yourself?"  
"No," Lili lied, "just a couple of friends."  
"My name's Tom." He reaches his hand over.  
"Gabriella." Lili shakes the man's hand.  
"So, where are your friends?" Tom asks.  
"They went to sleep. I just wanted to walk to the river, before heading to bed."  
"My friends are out on the island. I was just heading there. You want to come?"  
"Sure."  
Lili wondered what island this man was talking about, but if she wanted to find out where she was, she needed to play along. The two headed into the direction of the river. "Are you from Scotland?" asks Lili.  
"Yes," Tom replies. "How'd you know?"  
"I have few Scottish friends and I can tell the accent right away."  
"Normally, people have a hard time figuring out the accent seeing that many of us Scots speak a bit differently, depending on where we live."  
"Well, I've known these people for a long time, so I've grown used to the accent. Your friends there Scottish?"  
"No. Only my wife. The other two are from elswhere. One from Italy, the another was born locally."  
Locally, thought Lili. I wonder where I'm at.  
"That's nice. How you met them?"  
"Sarah, the one that's born here, decided to study abroad and went to Italy. I meet her when she was an intern at my other friend's restaurant."  
"So, she's studing culinary?"  
"Yes."  
"I'm guessing your Italian friend owns the restaurant."  
"Correct. He's an amazing cook."  
"That's funny. I have an Italian friend who owns a restaurant, too. His food is phenomenal."  
"I'm sure his is great, but my friend is better."  
Lili chuckles. "I doubt it."  
"I've tasted many restaurants around Italy, so far nothing beats his."  
"So have I."  
The two reached the river and Lili stops and observes her surrounding. She sees a small island that's on the river, with a small, narrow, grassy pathway that connects the island to the land. Lili has seen this placed before, actually she has travelled her before when she was working for the LIB. It was one of those places used for training. This was one of her favorite places to travel. Now, it just seem like a nightmare.  
"Spirit Island," Lili whispered to herself.


End file.
